Confirmed! Eintracht striker Hugo Ekitiké joins Liverpool FC

It's no longer a big surprise: With Hugo Ekitiké, the next top striker is leaving Eintracht Frankfurt for a world-class club. The Frenchman is joining Liverpool FC – and bringing Frankfurt a massive transfer fee. The clubs have reached an agreement.

Luka Jovic, Ante Rebic, Sebastien Haller, André Silva, Randal Kolo Muani, Omar Marmoush, and now Hugo Ekitiké. When a striker starts at Eintracht Frankfurt, he leaves the club quickly. The young Frenchman, who moved from Paris to the Hesse region a year and a half ago, is joining Liverpool FC. Only formalities and a medical are still pending.

On Sunday, according to information from hr-Sport, the two clubs agreed on a transfer. The transfer fee, including bonuses, is said to be €95 million, with a base fee of €90 million. The Frenchman had previously agreed to a six-year contract with the English champions. Sky and Bild were the first to report on the clubs' agreement. Ekitiké is expected to complete his medical shortly and accompany the Reds on their upcoming tour of Asia.

For Ekitiké, this is already his second attempt at a world-class club. After not even attending training in Paris, he now wants to make his breakthrough into the world class at Liverpool. The attacking competition is certainly fierce. In addition to superstar Mo Salah and record signing Florian Wirtz, the LFC squad currently includes other well-known players such as Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz, and Frederico Chiesa – some of whom are, however, potential buyers. In particular, the Reds' coach, Arne Slot, is said to have convincingly explained to Ekitiké during talks that, with the right performance, the young Frenchman is destined for the role of central number one striker.

Eintracht Frankfurt coach Dino Toppmöller expressed mixed feelings on Saturday after Frankfurt's friendly against FSV Mainz . "We on the coaching staff have mixed feelings. On the one hand, the work is paying off, which is sensational. On the other hand, a departure would of course be a bitter loss," Toppmöller said in a media briefing. He also warned against overly high expectations of new signing Jonathan Burkardt, for example.

While the Ekitiké sale will bring the Hessian club a huge transfer fee for the second time in recent years, the Bundesliga club will have to make several concessions. Frankfurt will soon be passing on a large sum of money to Paris. Ekitiké's former club had secured a share of the resale. According to hr-sport information, the clause stipulates that Frankfurt must pay 20 percent of the increase in value to PSG. Ekitiké cost Eintracht Frankfurt €19.5 million and is now leaving for €90 plus five million. In addition, the Frenchman’s advisors also participate significantly in the deal.

It's also certain that Eintracht will soon reinvest a portion of the proceeds in other players. The Hessian club has agreed to sign Ritsu Doan, and they want to do the same with SC Freiburg as soon as possible. It's only logical that the Breisgau club, aware of Frankfurt's multi-million dollar windfall, will now try to squeeze a few more euros out of the deal than they already have. Eintracht sporting director Markus Krösche, however, is aiming for the opposite. Eintracht's interest in Croatian striker Franjo Ivanovic from Royal Union Saint-Gilloise is also documented.